In other words, a white person in the United States has on his or her back an invisible weightless knapsack granting favored positions, status, acceptance, and more. McIntosh describes white privilege vividly and powerfully as the idea of an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions and more. McIntosh finds that whites are taught “to think of their lives as a morally neutral, normative, and average ideal, so that when work to benefit others, it’s seen as work allowing “them” to be more like “us.” This kind of teaching establishes a silent, but strong belief that the white is superior, even deserving our advantages.
Specifically, white privilege must be the translated position of advantage. In light of the preceding, she realized an erroneous omission in the teaching of racism: if some are disadvantaged, a significant corollary must be that another is placed in a position of advantage.
She realized that while she was under the dominance of males, she had dominance over other women who were of another ethnic origin, particularly black women.įor McIntosh, racism is taught as something which puts another at a disadvantage. Calling out this unacknowledged male privilege phenomenon, McIntosh knew that since hierarchies in the society of the United States were interlocking, her finding of unattended white privilege might be a key to racism as well. These denials, in essence, protected male privilege from being acknowledged, decreased, or curtailed. Her studies in this field were rooted in findings of men’s unwillingness to acknowledge their over-privileged status, though they would admit the disadvantaged state of women. It is also heartbreaking to notice that their birth announcement portrays a sketch of a white baby they, too, had a hard time finding an appropriate greeting.Īccording to Peggy McIntosh, Associate Director of the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, “white privilege” is “an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was meant to remain oblivious.” This discovery came as she was preparing a research article concerning male privilege in America. The problem was not in the lack of congratulatory messages, but in the lack of cards which properly identify with our friends. But we had a challenging experience finding the right card. But recently, my wife and I wanted to send a card to dear friends who just had a baby girl. It is easy for me to walk into a stationery store and find a greeting card appropriate for my family or most of my friends. Review: White Privilege: Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack Summary WHITE PRIVILEGE AND MALE PRIVILEGE: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women’s Studies (1988) By Peggy McIntosh
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